Rebirth of Darkness
by Z98
Summary: With the destruction of the Worldstone humanity now stands between the High Heavens and the Burning Hell. However, an even greater evil has been awakened and now the surviving Companions must save not only their fallen comrades from damnation but the res


A thought occurred to me once about how Blizzard would ever manage to make Diablo 3 if they ever chose to do so. The ideas I've had, replanting the Worldstone, only goes so far. Well, what if the motives of Tyrael in his attempts to help humanity was because the Host wished for humanity to hold the forces of Hell at bay? And that Tyrael's actions were in fact sanctioned by the High Heavens? Let's take a look at what else was buried deep within Mt. Arreat.  
  
Rebirth of Darkness  
  
Prologue: Eve of Destruction  
  
Within the great Worldstone Chamber stood the Lord of Destruction, Baal. The mighty demon roared, doing its best to scare those who had hunted him down. The ten surviving members of the companions stood their ground. Two of their number had died facing Mephisto and Diablo, and now all knew they could very likely die here today against the Lord of Destruction.  
  
"Baal, you shall pay for the atrocities you have committed against my people!" cried Pyerious, the Barbarian. It had been his people's duty to watch over Mt. Arreat and they had failed. But now, he would make right that wrong.  
  
Beside him stood a Necromancer, Hades. The man stepped forward and joined his comrade, summoning a powerful fire golem and prepared for the coming onslaught. Without warning a tendril shot out of the ground and attempted to impale him. And just as suddenly a sword cleaved through the tendril, the sword of the Paladin Gabriel. He nodded to Hades and attacked several other tendrils that had appeared.  
  
Out of nowhere several wolves appeared and attacked in packs. Above them ravens shimmered into existence and dove towards Baal. And finally, a bear shined and stepped into the chamber next to Fyrer, the Druid.  
  
"You truly expect to defeat me?" Baal laughed. "Come and face your death, mortals!"  
  
The mercenaries with the Companies began their attack, distracting the Lord of Destruction. Two Rogues picked off the tendrils Baal summoned and took shots at him. Baal countered by sending a powerful blast of magic, which knocked one of the Rogues back. Gabriel summoned Holy Lightning and it struck Baal, causing the demon to cry out in pain. He charged at Gabriel and threw him off the platform. Gabriel grabbed on with one hand, the other holding his sword. Another quickly took hold of him and Pyerious pulled him up.  
  
Around them skeleton warriors assembled themselves and threw themselves at the Lord of Destruction. Baal laughed at their pathetic attempts to penetrate his defenses and with a wave of his hand destroyed all of them. But this gave enough time for several wolves to lunge forward, their teeth sinking into his armor. Baal whirled around, shaking off two wolves. He grabbed the third and it erupted into flames in his hand. The wolf disappeared moments later but another came to take its place. Just as Baal turned around again the fire golem charged into him pushed him back. Several Bone Spirits also found him and impacted. Baal smashed through the flames of the golem and scattered them. They reappeared behind him but the Lord of Destruction was ready. He fired another burst of magic, destroying the golem yet again.  
  
This was when the bear struck. Its powerful paw smashed into Baal's head, stunning him for several crucial seconds. Pyerious, Gabriel, and several mercenaries from Lut Gholein and Kurast leapt forward. Their various blades found their mark and Baal howled out in pain. A nova of energy erupted from Baal and blasted the attackers back, injuring all of them. Gabriel quickly summoned a healing aura and tried to stay close with the wounded, doing his best to help them.  
  
Just then lightning and fire surrounded Baal and exploded, consuming the Lord of Destruction in a bath of power. However, Baal broke through the magic and turned on his latest opponent, the Sorceress Anjhira. She dodged two swipes by Blade's tentacles but a third caught her foot and held her down. A ball of flames appeared in his hands and he threw them. They struck a mana shield but it greatly weakened her. The others tried to pull Baal away from their comrade, hitting him from behind. In response, Baal started shuddering. To their horror, suddenly Baal seemed to split down the middle. The two halves stepped away from each other and flesh and bones started growing on both. Within seconds there stood two Baals before them.  
  
"My God," Gabriel muttered.  
  
The second Baal turned towards the others and attacked while the first kept its grip on Anjhira. With a quick swing she managed to sever the tentacle. The Sorceress did a back flip and got back onto her feet. She was joined by Hades and the two blasted away with their spells. Baal ignored the impact of magical energies upon his body and continued attacking. A blow smashed apart most of Hades' armor but he ducked away, avoiding getting his head ripped off.  
  
Hades rolled over and got away from Baal, sending his golem to try to distract Baal long enough to let Anjhira slip away too. He looked over and saw the others trying to deal with the other Baal without much success. The demon was just too strong.  
  
The wolves pounced on Baal only to be thrown off again but they were persistent. Through all the fur and blood Gabriel charged in and landed a powerful blow upon Baal's head. The sword got stuck and as he tried to pull it out he grabbed by the Lord of Destruction. The paladin suddenly was lit afire and screamed out in pain. Baal threw the warrior over the platform. He struck the Worldstone and fell downwards into the abyss.  
  
"Gabriel!" Anjhira screamed.  
  
She tried to use Telekinesis to catch him but Gabriel fell too fast for her to find him. Anjhira looked back at Baal and unleashed a tidal wave of fire and lightning at the creature. Her cry of despair echoed with the chamber and gave pause to the others. It struck one of the Baals and blasted off several tentacles and his arm. Several swords and pikes then found their way into Baal and put down the creature for good. The demon collapsed and slowly disappeared but the other one still remained.  
  
"That's the real Baal!" Pyerious cried.  
  
Everyone converged upon him. In desperation Baal shot out tendrils to try to block the path of his assailants but they were useless. As soon as they appeared the Companions cut them down. The demon backed away onto the extension, firing spells at them trying to keep them back. One threw Hades back but another Companion caught him. He fired off several Bone Spirits, breaking Baal's concentration and allowing Anjhira and Fyrer to unleash more spells. Finally the killing blow was struck as Pyerious slammed his mighty axe down Baal's skull.  
  
The great Lord of Destruction lay dying within the Worldstone Chamber. After being on the receiving end of powerful spells and blows at the hands of the Companions, Baal had used the last of his strength to finish his handiwork. Now as the demon's spirit was consumed and forced back into the Soulstone, the Companions could do nothing but watch as the Worldstone itself flashed a menacing red.  
  
"What are we to do?"  
  
"About the Worldstone?" said Hades. "I don't think we can do anything."  
  
Just then a bright light started shining and the Archangel Tyrael appeared before them. The brilliant wings of the Archangel shined light upon all of them and they felt a comfortable aura surrounding them. Tyrael's face was still hidden by the hood but that did not matter, for the majesty of the Archangel was clearly visible.  
  
"I am impressed, mortals. You have overcome the greatest challenge this world has ever faced and defeated the last of the Prime Evils," said Tyrael.  
  
"But at a great cost," said Hades. "We have lost five of our numbers and many more fell to the three Brothers before we could stop them."  
  
Tyrael lifted his hand and Gabriel's body floated up from the abyss. It settled down on the platform and Anjhira ran to it. She hugged it and cried, finally having time to let out her pain and sorrow.  
  
"Those who fell in fighting the Prime and Lesser Evils will never be forgotten by the High Heavens, for you have done a great service to us as well," Tyrael continued. "However, we are too late to save the Worldstone. Baal's destructive touch has corrupted it completely. Given enough time, the Worldstone's energies will drain away and the barriers between the worlds will shatter-the powers of Hell will flood into this.Sanctuary.and eradicate your people and everything you've labored to build."  
  
"And there is no way to stop this?" Pyerious asked.  
  
"No," Tyrael answered. "Therefore, I must destroy the corrupted Worldstone before the powers of Hell take root. This act will change your world forever-with consequences even I cannot foresee. However, it is the only way to ensure mankind's survival."  
  
"Then we have failed in our duty," Pyerious said sadly.  
  
"No. You have done far greater good than you can ever know." A red portal than appeared next to Tyrael. "Go now, mortals. I have opened a portal that will lead you to safety. May the Eternal Light shine upon you and your descendants for what you've done this day. The continued survival of mankind is your legacy. Above all else, you have earned a rest from this endless battle."  
  
Pyerious picked up the fallen Gabriel and the group solemnly walked out of the room. The end of their world was their legacy as much as the salvation of humanity. Anjhira looked at the great Worldstone Chamber one last time before stepping through. A single tear slipped down her cheeks and splashed on the ground. Her final hope; all the sacrifices the Companions and humanity had made would not be in vain.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Down within the depths of Mt. Arreat stood a chamber. Even deeper than the root of the Worldstone Chamber, this room held a great secret. Runes and symbols were carved throughout it, creating a magical barrier to contain the being locked within. At the center, a single Soulstone was suspended above the ground by the magical guards. Slowly, a single minute crack appeared. It had awakened.  
  
End of Prologue  
  
A few things. First, I pulled Tyrael's speech from another fic on ff.net but my dad closed it before I had written down which fic it was, so I'm kind of giving credit to that work now. If I ever find it again I'll mention it. Also, Champion of Light is quite obviously on hold, but I think many of you will enjoy this. It's a post-Expansion story, and it will be heading towards some interesting ground.  
  
Z98 


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